Washing machine

ABSTRACT

A washing machine, includes a drum; a condensing duct to condense air which flows in from the drum; a cooling water supplying unit to supply cooling water to the inside of the condensing duct so that the air flowing into the condensing duct from the drum is condensed; and a control unit to control the cooling water supplying unit so that the cooling water is supplied intermittently. Thus, a washing machine is provided that is capable of reducing the consumption amount of cooling water, increasing an efficiency of drying laundry and shortening the time for drying the laundry.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 2004-0096831, filed on Nov. 24, 2004, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a washing machine and, more particularly, to a washing machine capable of supplying cooling water intermittently.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally a drum-type washing machine refers to a kind of washing machine, which washes the laundry with impacts generated when the pieces of laundry are dropped downward by rotating a washing tank at 360 degrees. In addition to a washing function, the drum-type washing machine has various functions such as rinsing, dehydrating, and drying.

When the drying function of the drum-type washing machine is performed, air heated by a heater is supplied to the inside of a drum to thereby heat the laundry therein, and the air at high temperature and high humidity generated in the course of heating the laundry passes through a condensing process to enhance a drying efficiency.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a conventional drum-type washing machine comprises a drum 1, a blowing fan 2 and a blowing fan duct 3 disposed on the outside of the drum 1, a condensing duct 4 connecting the drum 1 and the blowing fan 3, a jetting nozzle 5 mounted internally in the upper side of the condensing duct 4 and a cooling water supplying tube 6 supplying cooling water to the jetting nozzle 5.

In the drum-type washing machine with this configuration, air at high temperature and high humidity having passed through a drying process is drawn into the inside of the condensing duct 4 through an air outlet 1 a in the lower side of the drum 1. The air at high temperature and high humidity drawn into the inside of the condensing duct 4 encounters cooling water jetted vertically downward by the jetting nozzle 5, in the course of flowing into the blowing fan duct 3 through the condensing duct 4, whereby the water contained in the air is condensed.

The conventional drum-type washing machine continuously supplies cooling water during the whole drying process (the beginning, middle and late period of drying) so as to increase the condensing efficiency, thereby consuming a large amount of cooling water.

In this respect, there is a need for a drum-type washing machine capable of reducing a consumption amount of cooling water, increasing a drying efficiency and shortening the time for drying.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a washing machine capable of reducing the consumption amount of cooling water, increasing an efficiency of drying laundry and shortening the time for drying the laundry.

The foregoing and/or other aspects of the present invention can be achieved by providing a washing machine, comprising a drum; a condensing duct, which communicates with the drum, to condense air which flows in from the drum; a cooling water supplying unit to supply cooling water to the inside of the condensing duct so that the air flowing into the condensing duct from the drum is condensed; and a control unit to control the cooling water supplying unit so that the cooling water is supplied intermittently.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the washing machine further comprises a temperature sensor to measure a temperature of condensed water condensed inside the condensing duct by the cooling water of the cooling water supplying unit, wherein the control unit controls the cooling water supplying unit so that the cooling water is intermittently supplied until a temperature of the condensed water measured by the temperature sensor reaches an established temperature.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the control unit controls the cooling water supplying unit so that the cooling water is continuously supplied, after the temperature of the condensed water measured by the temperature sensor has reached the established temperature.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the temperature sensor measures a temperature of the condensed water discharged from the condensing duct.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and/or other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the exemplary embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompany drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a structure of a condensing duct of a conventional drum-type machine;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a drum-type washing machine consistent with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view schematically illustrating the drum-type washing machine consistent with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic control block diagram of the drum-type washing machine consistent with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a control flow diagram of the drum-type washing machine consistent with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating temperature of condensed water and a control state of a cooling water supplying unit; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a condensing duct according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE, NON-LIMITING EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention may be applied to various types of washing machines, but the present invention will be described in association with a drum-type washing machine as an exemplary embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the drum-type washing machine according to the present invention comprises a main casing 10 shaped with a square frame, a cylinder-type drum 20 installed inside the main casing 10 in which the laundry is put, a cylinder-type washing tank 22 installed inside the main casing 10, having dehydrating holes on the wall face thereof, a driving motor 23 provided below a lower unit of the drum 20, rotating the washing tank 22 forwardly or backwardly, to thereby performing operations to wash, rinse and dehydrate the laundry, and a door 24 installed in front of the main casing 10, opening and closing the main casing 10.

Over the top of the drum 20 are provided a water supplying unit which supplies the water for washing into the drum 20 and as well dissolves the detergent in the course of supplying the water, the water supplying unit comprising a water supplying valve 25, a water supplying tube 26 and a detergent dissolving unit 27.

On the top of the drum 20 are also provided a drying unit to dry the laundry after the dehydrating operation has been completed. The drying unit comprises a blowing fan 70 and a blowing fan duct 72 mounted on the top of the drum 20, a discharging duct 80 mounted between the blowing fan duct 72 and an air inlet 21 a of the drum 20 so as to allow them to communicate with each other, a heater 60 mounted inside the discharging duct 80, a condensing duct 30 mounted between an air outlet 21 b of the drum 20 and the blowing fan duct 72 so as to allow them to communicate with each other, and a cooling water supplying unit 43 supplying cooling water into the condensing duct 30 so that air which flows into the condensing duct 30 from the inside of the drum 20 is condensed.

The cooling water supplying unit 43 comprises a cooling water supplying tube 42 branched from the water supplying valve 25, and a cooling water jetting member 40 jetting the cooling water from the cooling water supplying tube 42 to the inside of the condensing duct 30.

With this configuration, air blown through the blowing fan 70 is heated by the heater 60 while it is passing through the discharging duct 80 and is then supplied to the inside of the drum 20 through the air inlet 21 a, thereby heating and drying the laundry. The air at high temperature and high humidity generated in the course of drying the laundry flows into the inside of the condensing duct 30 through the air outlet 21 b of the drum 20, and water contained in the air at high temperature and high humidity flowing into the inside of the condensing duct 30 is condensed by the cooling water jetted vertically downward through the cooling water jetting member 40 in the course of being drawn into the blowing fan 70 after having passed the condensing duct 30.

Inside the condensing duct 30 are provided an elevation limiting projection 50 and a condensed water collecting projection 51, whose shapes and installation positions may be modified in various ways, as necessary.

Below the lower part of the drum 20 is provided a draining unit including a draining tube 28 and a draining pump 29, so as to drain the water after washing inside the drum 20.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the drum-type washing machine according to the present invention comprises a temperature sensor 91 measuring a temperature of the condensed water condensed by the cooling water of the cooling water supplying unit 43, and a control unit 90 controlling supply of the cooling water according to the temperature of the condensed water measured by the temperature sensor 91.

The temperature sensor 91 measures a temperature of the condensed water condensed by the cooling water of the cooling water supplying unit 43 and discharged to the outside of the condensing duct 30. It is preferable, but not necessary, that the temperature sensor 91 is provided in the lower side of the condensing duct 30, to measure the temperature of the condensed water discharged to a discharging unit (not shown) from the condensing duct 30.

An established temperature to be compared with a temperature measured by the temperature sensor 91 is established in the control unit 90, wherein the established temperature refers to the highest temperature of the condensed water depicted in FIG. 6.

The control unit 90 controls the cooling water supplying unit 43 so that the cooling water is supplied intermittently until the temperature measured in the temperature sensor 91 reaches the established temperature, and also controls the cooling water supplying unit 43 so that supply of the cooling water is continued after the temperature measured in the temperature sensor 91 has reached the established temperature.

Hereinbelow, an operation to dry the laundry in the drum-type washing machine with the configuration described above will be described.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the air blown from the blowing fan 70 is heated by the heater 60 while it is passing through the discharging duct 80, and then supplied into the inside of the drum 20 through the air inlet 21 a. Accordingly, the laundry within the drum 20 is heated and dried.

The air at high temperature and high humidity generated in the course of drying the laundry flows into the inside of the condensing duct 30 through the air outlet 21 b of the drum 20, and the air at high temperature and high humidity flowing into the inside of the condensing duct 30 is drawn into the blowing fan duct 72 after having passed the condensing duct 30.

When the air at high temperature and high humidity flowing into the inside of the condensing duct 30 passes through the condensing duct 30, the water contained therein is condensed by the cooling water supplied through the cooling water supplying unit 43. At this time and with reference to FIG. 5, the cooling water supplied through the cooling water supplying unit 43 is intermittently supplied according to control by the control unit 90 at operation S1.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the control unit 90 controls the cooling water supplying unit 43 so that supply and interception of the cooling water can be repeated until the temperature of the condensed water measured by the temperature sensor 91 reaches the established temperature, that is, during the A region.

By the way, condensation forms inside the condensing duct 30 even while the cooling water is intermittently being supplied, as depicted in the A region of FIG. 6.

The condensed water is elevated by making use of an air current being elevated inside the condensing duct 30 but its elevation is limited by colliding against the elevation limiting projection 50 and forming water drops on the elevation limiting projection 50. The water drops having formed on the elevation limiting projection 50 are dropped and collected in the condensed water collecting projection 51, and the water drops collected in the condensed water collecting projection 51 are scattered and elevated again by the upward air current, and then collided against the elevation limiting projection 50. This chain of processes is repeated. Since contact of the air current elevated with water is extended through these processes, condensation occurs within the condensing duct 30 while the cooling water is being intercepted.

Next, the temperature of the condensed water measured by the temperature sensor 91 is compared with the established temperature at operation S3. When the cooling water temperature measured by the temperature sensor 91 reaches the established temperature as depicted in FIG. 6, the control unit 90 controls the cooling water supplying unit 43 so that the cooling water having been supplied intermittently is continuously supplied at operation S5.

As depicted in FIG. 6, the control unit 90 continuously supplies the cooling water to the condensing duct 30 so as to allow the temperature of the condensed water to be lowered, after the temperature of the condensed water measured in the temperature sensor 91 reaches the established temperature, that is, during the B region.

Thereafter, the control unit 90 ascertains whether the drying operation is completed. If it is ascertained that the drying operation has been completed, the control unit 90 stops supply of the cooling water.

In the drum-type washing machine according to the present invention as described above, if supply of the cooling water to the condensing duct 30 and interception thereof are repeated, the condensed water temperature of the condensing duct 30 is increased as the drying time is increased. Accordingly, the temperature of the air returned to the inside of the drum 20 through the condensing duct 30 is also increased, thereby increasing the internal temperature of the drum 20.

As the internal temperature of the drum 20 is increased due to the intermittent supply of the cooling water to the condensing duct 30, an efficiency of vaporizing the water in the laundry can be improved and the drying time can be shortened. In addition, the amount of the cooling water consumed can be reduced.

In the above-described embodiment, the present invention has been applied to the condensing duct 30 as illustrated in FIG. 3. However, the present invention is not limited to this, but can be applied various types of condensing ducts. The present invention may also be applied to a condensing duct 130 illustrated in FIG. 7.

The condensing duct 130 illustrated in FIG. 7 comprises an air inlet 132 through which internal air of the drum flows, a condensing unit 134 through which the air flowing through the air inlet 132 passes, and an air outlet 136 through which the air having passed through the condensing unit 134 is discharged.

The present invention has been described with reference to a drum-type washing machine, but can also be applied to a drying machine.

As described above, in a washing machine consistent with the present invention, the consumption amount of the cooling water can be reduced. In addition, the drying efficiency of the laundry can be improved and the drying time of the laundry can be shortened.

Although a few exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents. 

1. A washing machine, comprising; a drum; a condensing duct, which communicates with the drum, to condense air which flows in from the drum; a cooling water supplying unit to supply cooling water to the inside of the condensing duct so that the air flowing into the condensing duct from the drum is condensed; and a control unit to control the cooling water supplying unit so that the cooling water is supplied intermittently.
 2. The washing machine as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a temperature sensor to measure a temperature of condensed water condensed inside the condensing duct by the cooling water of the cooling water supplying unit, wherein the control unit controls the cooling water supplying unit so that the cooling water is intermittently supplied until a temperature of the condensed water measured by the temperature sensor reaches an established temperature.
 3. The washing machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein the control unit controls the cooling water supplying unit so that the cooling water is continuously supplied, after the temperature of the condensed water measured by the temperature sensor has reached the established temperature.
 4. The washing machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein the temperature sensor measures a temperature of the condensed water discharged from the condensing duct.
 5. The washing machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein the temperature sensor measures a temperature of the condensed water discharged from the condensing duct. 